Chelsea fired Thomas Tuchel in 2022, but not before alerting Todd Boehly about the problems the team would confront.
As other players’ contracts were coming to an end, Chelsea lost Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger to free transfers that summer. Journalist Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail has recalled a conversation in which Tuchel warned Todd Boehly and the team about what lay ahead.
Speaking on It’s All Kicking Off was Ladyman!
After Tuchel was fired, Chelsea’s fortunes have declined; the Blues finished 12th in the previous campaign and were not eligible to play in the Champions League.
Furthermore, not much has changed this term for the better. Only a few spots have been gained by the team under Mauricio Pochettino.
Chelsea was forewarned by Thomas Tuchel that they would fail.
Seeing so many Chelsea players nearing the end of their contracts, Tuchel saw the team’s downfall coming.
“I have noticed Thomas Tuchel, a manager I have huge regard for, has started to make a couple of comments suggesting he may not be totally happy over there,” Ladyman stated in reference to the current Bayern Munich manager. That would be like putting on a poor suit if I were Old Trafford’s new half owner, Jim Ratcliffe.
“After Chelsea’s defeat in the FA Cup final. He told Chelsea about what was coming because he had a number of players whose contracts were set to expire while I stood in the hallway chatting with other media. He forewarned Chelsea that the summertime roster turnover or turnaround would be too great and indeed it was. He was correct, and by September of that year, he had left.
Chelsea picking up a lesson
These days, the Blues don’t have many contract issues, and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. They have signed new players to extremely long contracts.
After getting rid of Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic in the summer, Chelsea is now also offloading players who are in the final year of their contracts.